[Amaya-Mazie-Marley]

Is wet food bad for dogs? I know some people who feed their animals nothing but wet food and I know some people who look down upon wet food. I've been giving my dogs pedigree little champion wet food pouches. They come in a multi pack of like beef, beef with vegetables and noodles, just all kinds. My dogs love them and they don't get them that often. They get 1 pouch a week if not every two weeks. They still eat their dry food, I just use the pouches as a treat. So I was wondering is wet food good or bad? Is pedigree good or bad?

[gone2thedogs]

I wouldn't use canned food as a dog's sole or primary source of nutrition, but as a treat or top-dressing, I don't see a huge problem, so long as you're feeding something your dog can tolerate, with good ingredients.

As an alternative to Pedigree, you could look into some brands that use higher quality ingredients. Merrick makes some very palatable (according to my dogs) canned "stews" that go nicely as a top dressing to kibble:
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/

[RonE]

Like kibble, there are good canned and pouch foods and some not-so-good.

I would just keep an eye on the recall lists, since most of the affected foods were canned or pouched. The offending gloutens were used as thickeners for the "gravy."

[CoverTune]

I think one concern, if a person was to feed wet food exclusively, is that better care needs to be taken of the dogs teeth. Kibble tends to "scrub" the teeth and help keep them clean.

[Inga]

I agree with the top dressing thing. My dogs love a few spoons full of Canidae canned on top of their food. They stand there looking at me if I forget to put it on. Nothing makes them eat pills better then a glob of canned food either.

[RonE]

Originally Posted by CoverTune

Kibble tends to "scrub" the teeth and help keep them clean.

There is some debate about whether that is actually true.

[DobManiac]

My dog tends to get tarter on his back teeth and I feed him kibble daily. However, I am firmly against rawhide but have been told numerous times it cleans their teeth. I gave him a rawhide bone yesterday, sat there and watched him the whole time. His teeth looked great after. Not I would give rawhide regularly, but I'm thinking about it.

[Amaya-Mazie-Marley]

I am assuming that the foods wouldn't be on the shelves if they were recalled but thank you RonE for mentioning that. I am going to check into it right now. The only thing I see wrong with using wet food as a topper is they will get too dependant on it and look for it every day.

[poodleholic]

Since my dogs are one of the breeds prone to bloat, wet food is very much a part of their diet (EVO & Natural Balance kibble). However, it's not canned dog food, but rather, fresh poached chicken breasts and/or ground meats (sirloin, lamb, bison), fresh, steamed vegetables (asparagus, green beans, spinach, kale, sweet potato, squash, broccoli, etc.), brown rice, poached eggs, brown rice, plain, live-culture yogurt, cottage cheese, sardines, apples, pears, and so on.

They are 6 yrs. old and have beautiful white teeth that have never needed to be cleaned (I do brush). I also give them raw bones. NEVER ever give rawhide chews because they are loaded with chemicals and are dangerous (can cause intestinal blockage not seen on x-ray), and sometimes emergency surgery can save them, but sometimes it's too late. Besides, at $2,500 - $3,000 or more for surgery, I'd rather leave the rawhide at the store.

[rayww]

Hi ! I am just wonder whether can we mix them both together ?
I've try mixing beef or chicken broths with the dry food . and my dog love it .

[RonE]

Originally Posted by Amaya-Mazie-Marley

I am assuming that the foods wouldn't be on the shelves if they were recalled

That assumption has proven deadly for some dogs and cats.

Originally Posted by rayww

my dog love it .

What a dog loves to eat is not always a sign of what's actually good for them. They are very much like us in that respect.

[rayww]

yes , i should take the advice . Not simply give them food , because iwe don't know what's the side effect to them .

[Alpha]

Covertune said what I was going to say

According to the nutrionist I speak with, canned food is much better than kibble. Like poodleholic was speaking about with bloating, kibble is a very unnatural form of "food" for dogs. The closest you can get to what dogs would naturally eat is raw, than homemade, canned then kibble being the last.

The moisture is what's most important in canned food. Kibble can expand more than three times it's original size in your dog's stomach by soaking up all the liquid, therefore dyhydrating your dog. Dog's have to drink more if they eat kibble then they would by eating a canned food diet.

Keeping teeth clean is the only con. A bone here or there as well as brushing can help prevent plaque buildup.

Pedigree is not a canned food, our "pouch" product that would feed. Typically the same brands that make high quality kibble will have a good canned food line. I really like the Merrick canned foods. There are two chicken wings in the Wing-a-ling cans, two breasts in another kind, three sausages in the cowboy and so on and so forth. Big chunks of meat, bone and all. (The bone is slow cooked so it's safe for your dog to eat)

I also fed Eagle Pack's canned when I was mixing canned with kibble. The nutritionist at Eagle Pack said mixing is the best way to go if your going to feed "commercial" foods. You get the benefit of the crunch from the kibble as well as the moisture from the canned.

[gone2thedogs]

Originally Posted by Amaya-Mazie-Marley

I am assuming that the foods wouldn't be on the shelves if they were recalled but thank you RonE for mentioning that.

If you go to the pet food recall sticky at the top of this forum you'll find links to sites that offer info re: which brands and formulas were/are affected, and info on brands that source and manufacture in safer (so far) ways.